OLCV e-bulletin: Cap global warming pollution

Act now to cap global warming pollution

Right now, Oregon faces a unique opportunity to be a national leader on solving the global warming crisis. Our elected legislators are debating a package of “healthy climate” bills that OLCV, along with the Oregon Conservation Network, is working hard to pass. These bills would significantly advance energy conservation and efficiency efforts, cultivate the growth of homegrown renewable energy industries, and create tens of thousands of jobs. (Scroll down for more information on some of those bills.)
 
At the heart of the “healthy climate” package is Senate Bill 80, known as the cap-and-trade bill. A cap-and-trade system puts a limit – a mandatory, declining cap – on the total amount of global warming pollution that can be emitted in the state, and turns those emissions into credits that can be traded among the state’s largest polluters, mostly power plants and factories, helping to efficiently and affordably decrease the combined amount of pollution.
 
In January, a draft report from ECONorthwest projected such a system would save businesses (and by extension, consumers) billions of dollars and create more than 43,000 jobs for Oregonians. And in a guest opinion in Tuesday’s Oregonian, four Oregon professors sum up the findings of multiple recent studies on the economics of climate change: Oregon cannot afford to do nothing. Read more on the OLCV blog.
 
Tell your legislator that you support a cap on global warming pollution.
Oregon climate package reinforced by Copenhagen findings
 
Cap and Trade isn’t the only bill OLCV and OCN are working to pass.
 
Three other priorities in the climate package:
 
SB 79: Energy efficiency ratings for buildings and homes, and green building goals
 
SB 101: Emission performance standards for electric power plants
 
HB 2186: Authorization for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to regulate fuels and greenhouse-gas pollution
 
In Copenhagen last week, a three-day climate conference resoundingly reinforced the work we are doing here. A story in The New York Times summed it up like this:
 
At the congress, it seemed that all the scientists had to share with their peers was bad news, but a number of economists saw the climate crisis rather as an historic opportunity to reorganize the world economy and develop new, clean and job-creating activities.

We couldn’t have said it better. The healthy climate package aims not only to combat the effects of global warming but also creates economic opportunity at just the right time. Renewable energy jobs and energy conservation programs are the key to a new, stronger, green-fueled economy for Oregonians. And as the science is showing, most recently in Copenhagen, we must act swiftly and soon.
 
Cut your water bill in half?

 
A water conservation bill that would permit homeowners to water their lawns and gardens with recycled “gray” water passed the House on Monday and is now headed for the Senate. If passed, homeowners could install gray-water systems that would facilitate the reuse of waste water created from bathing, dish-washing or laundry (but not sewage). Read more about it on the OLCV blog.
 
Buses, bikes, peds need transportation stimulus dollars
 
Did you know that the Oregon Department of Transportation has received $300 million in federal stimulus dollars? In case you missed it, a guest opinion in The Oregonian on March 10th sheds light on the allocation of the first $120 million:
 
Not one cent for transit, bicycling or walking.

Misguided. Unwise. Irresponsible.
 
Then, last night, The Associated Press reported that of the next $100 million (of the $300 million total) now allocated, $40 million is slated for “rail, ports, public transit and bicycle and pedestrian paths.”
 
The AP story credits the work of Oregon Conservation Network member 1000 Friends for helping to secure that investment in a more balanced transportation system. Of course, $40 million out of $220 million so far is still unbalanced in favor of roads so there’s far more work to be done.
 
Meanwhile, OLCV and OCN are pushing to pass the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, which would ensure dramatically more funding for bike, pedestrian and public transit options around the state while creating jobs, lowering transportation costs, and addressing global warming.
 
Check out the 1000 Friends website for more on the plan.
 
And tell your legislator to support a balanced transportation package.
 
2007 work on toxics now paying off
 
In 2007, OLCV and the Oregon Conservation Network worked to pass legislation that is now helping clean up toxic pollution caused by chemicals found in everything from pesticides and flame retardants to pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Senate Bill 737 set into motion a process by which the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality must focus on protecting public health and the environment by figuring out ways to control exposure to these toxins.
 
Last month, DEQ released a list of 175 pollutants and has been taking public comments. The last meeting is tonight in Portland from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at DEQ Headquarters, 811 SW Sixth Ave., Room EQC-A (10th floor). You can submit comments via email until March 27. Go here for more information on the list of pollutants and how to comment.
 
 
OLCV executive director rocks Utah
 
Jonathan Poisner left the OLCV helm in February for some R & R (rocks and more rocks) in Southeastern Utah. From his blog post about his trip (which includes a link to photos):
 
…It's hard to describe the majesty of the area. I expected "red rock." But red only was a single hue in a rainbow of colors. I was expecting "big rocks." But in many instances it was the small intricate geology and desert plant life that astounded…

Dine with hundreds of your fellow advocates April 24th

Last April, nearly 900 of your friends from Oregon’s conservationist, political and sustainable business communities wined, dined and celebrated their commitment to Oregon’s environmental legacy. Join us at the Oregon Convention Center on April 24 for OLCV's Twelfth Annual Dinner for the Environment.
This year, we welcome Keynote Speaker Dan Kammen, Distinguished Professor of Energy at UC Berkeley, and Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center. Kammen is a contributing member to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that earned the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
 
No-host cocktails at 5:30; Dinner at 7pm. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.
 
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